In this short course you will explore the possibility that children might acquire written language in a way that is similar to how they acquire spoken language—without instruction. You will encounter various aspects of behavioral science and technology that are relevant to this proposition. You will have the opportunity to learn the the perceptual, cognitive, and neurological capacities of children during their first years of life. You will advance your understanding of children and how they learn language. You will also be more attuned to current advances in the technology of human machine interactions, and what these phenomena imply for learning to read at an early age.

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Dr. Dominic William Massaro

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[MUSIC] Welcome, I'm Dom Massaro, Instructor for this course on Children Acquiring Literacy Naturally. This course might be viewed as a field trip, encountering various aspects of behavioral science and technology that are relevant to how children acquire spoken language and whether similar acquisition of written language is possible. I trust you find it a strange idea that reading can be acquired at the same time that speech is typically learned. Babies start understanding speech in the first year of life and they are talking soon afterwards. Most children don't learn to read until they spend many hours in elementary school. Isn't that what school is for? Reading, writing and arithmetic. True, some parents have bragged or uploaded YouTube videos about how their little one could read well before schooling began, but bragging rights mean that this achievement seldom occurs. Is it possible that early acquired literacy could be made more pervasive? And if so, what is necessary to achieve this milestone? Given this context, the goal of this course is to better understand spoken and written language. Perception, memory and learning and how they might allow reading to occur naturally at an early age. That's right, you heard naturally. Analogous to acquiring spoken language, a strictly structured drill and practice regiment should not be necessary to achieve this accomplishment. What is necessary is behavioral sciences partnership with technology to immerse the child in written language in the same way she is flooded with spoken language. Even if you don't buy into this theme, there's a lot for you to learn and puzzle about in this course. In fact, we highly value skepticism in our inquiry and there is also much value in this course for nonbelievers. This course carved out of behavioral science research and theory that are relevant to the question of naturally acquired literacy. You will have this opportunity to learn about language, speech, and reading; and the neurological, sensory, and cognitive capacities of children during their first years of life. On the practical side, this course should advance your understanding of children and how they learn language. So for example, if you have children or work with young children, you will be able to apply some of what you have learned to better understand and reinforce their impressive acquisition of language and their capability of learning to read. Given our discussions of the rapidly changing technological landscape, you will also be more attuned to current advances in the technology of human machine interactions and what these phenomenon imply for learning to read at an early age. We will also discuss the importance of children's linguistic environment during their first years of life and how this environment can be made more conducive to language learning. We will learn about various strategies that are seamless to implement and resources that are readily available to support children's language leaning. To summarize, completing this course will equip you with better insights into the capabilities of children and how they learn language. How both spoken and written language are understood and used, the current accepted view of reading pedagogy and how technological innovations might change the existing landscape of education and society more generally. What are you expected to accomplish to earn a course certificate? Small exercises will be scattered throughout the lecture with the goal of maintaining and enhancing your engagement. There will also be a required reading of an article summarizing the central theme of naturally acquired literacy. You will be expected to complete a small class project focused on the theme of the course. The project can address the theme of naturally acquired literacy in a variety of ways. For example, one type of project will seek out a new source of evidence relevant to the question of naturally acquired literacy. This evidence will be described and analyzed to either support or weaken the question. A second project might review some technological and, or behavioral science resource that has the promise of facilitating language learning. A third project might address a controversial issue in the current pedagogy of learning to read. You will first submit a project proposal to ensure that the project is suitable and manageable. The project proposal and the project will be peer reviewed. Note that reviewing a peer's work is also required for a certificate. There are lots of possibilities to pursue a project with specific interest to you and your project could evolve into one of the highlights of your course experience. Consistent with the underlying pedagogy of Coursera, you are empowered to design and fulfill your educational goals for this course. We expect different levels of participation during the course and it isn't necessary for you to complete every activity to benefit from the course. I trust it will be a rewarding journey for myself and I ask you to join in. [MUSIC]